Now Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, will present on these seemingly divergent topics in Redding and Red Bluff in February.

The subjects aren’t as far apart as they may seem.

“In my main evening talk (Cascade Theatre), I’ll be talking about the different types of minds: Visual photo-realistic thinker, the mathematical pattern thinker and the word thinker — auditory learners, too,” said Grandin, a self-described visual-spatial thinker who said she stores thoughts as photos and videos.

Grandin focuses on the different ways children learn and encourages educators to teach to children's strengths rather than in ways that may not be conducive for them. Otherwise, frustrated children may be labeled as having behavioral problems.

Some kids “have very uneven skills,” Grandin said. “A kid who’s an engineering type, really smart in math, forced to keep doing baby math may become a behavior problem. But he’ll probably need some help at reading. Move him ahead in the math and give him extra help with reading.”

Grandin knows what it’s like to be labeled. She has autism.

“I was very good at art and design,” Grandin said. “Where I had problems was with math, especially algebra.”

Grandin is probably most well known for her work with animals, in particular finding more humane ways to treat livestock.

“Being a visual thinker helped me work with cattle," she said. "I looked at what they were seeing. They’d stop at a shadow, or a vehicle parked next to a fence.”

Bringing Grandin to the North State was the brainchild of students in the Shasta College’s Agricultural Leadership Club.

“They felt it would be a community service,” said Trena Kimler-Richards, program coordinator for the Agricultural and Resources Program at Shasta College.

Originally planned to be at the Shasta College Theater, demand for tickets to Grandin’s Feb. 22 presentation exceeded the theater’s capacity. The school switched the venue to the Cascade Theatre.

Grandin will also present on animal behavior and agriculture Feb. 23 at the State Theatre in Red Bluff. That event is sold out.

Grandin “is a leading animal behaviorist in the United States,” Kimler-Richards said, adding that she's also been instrumental in the development of humane animal practices.

Grandin has cows and her autism to thank for inspiring her work with animals.

As a child, Grandin felt overstimulated when people hugged her. She developed the idea for a human hug machine to help calm hypersensitive people when she saw cows on her family’s Arizona ranch calm down in a squeeze chute — a machine intended to restrain cattle for inoculation. The hug machine is now part of therapeutic programs around the world.

Animals think in sensory mode like images, smells and sounds, not in words, Grandin said.

“Let’s say your dog gets afraid of men wearing baseball hats because a man with a baseball hat hit him. It’s stored as a picture in the brain.”

Grandin said to look at several indicators to understand what an animal is thinking.

"She created a system for livestock handling to reduce stress," Kimler-Richards said. "Animals aren't fearful."

A cow's eyes are situated toward the sides of its head so its depth perception is different from that of humans, Kimler-Richards said. They may see shadows as possible holes in the ground and stop moving. Grandin's design has solid sides so light doesn't pass through slats.

Shasta College has a small model of Grandin's chute design. It allows cattle to move in a natural curved pattern.